Scar/Main article
Scar was the main antagonist in The Lion King. He is the younger brother of Mufasa and the uncle of Simba. Appearance Scar is a sleek, elegant lion who is severely lacking in physical prowess, something he comments on himself and according to the synopsis. Scar's lead animator, Andreas Deja, intentionally designed him with a slick, combed back black silky mane that when in the sun apears a very dark brown, and animated him to slither and glide rather than move about in the way the stockier, stronger lions in the movie do such as Mufasa or Simba. Scar's fur is reddish-brown, his mane is coal black,and his eyes are bright yellow-green, two traits he shares with Ahadi. He boast many features that resemble an Outsider. A scar, his namesake, runs across his left eye. He closely resembles Jafar and his design inspired the Outlander Pride's. Personality Scar is highly intelligent and charismatic as he is able to rally the hyenas to his cause and gain fanatical loyalty from Zira and her pride of lionesses. Scar is a psychopathic individual who is mainly concerned with gaining power and will kill anyone he sees as competition. Despite his ruthless nature, he is a somewhat cowardly individual, more likely to run away from violence than confront it. When pressed though, he is portra yed as a fierce fighter who holds his own against, and almost defeats Simba at the movie's climax, despite the fact that he (Scar) is far older by decades yet is able to fight as if he was as young as Simba. Due to him being able to plot the murder of his own brother and nephew, and execute this plot without little remorse, it could be said that he doesn't care much for family relations. Scar's lyrics in the song "Be Prepared" ("meticulous planning, tenacity spanning, decades of denial, is simply why I'll be King undisputed, respected, saluted and seen for the wonder I am") and his inability to take criticism either from Shenzi or Sarabi establish him as being a narcissist. He is also an expert manipulator, having tricked both Mufasa and Simba into situations with the intent of getting them killed (successfully, in the case of Mufasa). His deceptive and opportunistic nature would prove to be his undoing, however, when his hyena allies overheard his attempt to sell them out. Information Backstory ".]] According to the novel series, The Lion King: Six New Adventures, Scar's real name is Taka, which is Swahili for "dirt", "trash", or "want". In A Tale of Two Brothers, one of the books in the set, young adult Taka is angry that Mufasa is chosen to be the heir to the throne. He gets even angrier when his father, King Ahadi, breaks his promise to go hunting with him, choosing to solve the drought problems in the Pride Lands instead. Taka wanders off to talk to Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed the hyenas, who tell him that if Mufasa were to be made to look like a failure to their father, Ahadi, and the rest of their pride, then he, Taka, will look good in comparison and take the throne. Taka then tricks his brother into going down to the waterhole, where a cape buffalo named Boma is refusing to share the water. The Pridelands are in a terrible drought and any water there is precious. Mufasa begins reasoning with Boma, when Taka roars and says that Boma must move by order of the Lion King, or Mufasa will face Boma in combat. Boma charges out of the water at Mufasa. Mufasa escapes to safety with Rafiki, but Boma says that his herd will get Taka. Mufasa runs back to find Taka being attacked by Boma's herd. The largest of the buffaloes slashes Taka with his horns, knocking him unconscious. Mufasa leaps in to save his brother and the buffaloes ready themselves to attack again. Before they can do so, however, Ahadi appears with a large herd of animals. The herd surrounds the buffaloes and ends the fight. Later on, Rafiki examines Taka and finds a deep cut on his left eye, which will never fully heal. Taka then requests that he be called "Scar" from now on, as a reminder of how he foolishly allowed his anger to rule him.. The Lion King Scar makes his first appearance directly after Simba's presentation, where he traps an unsuspecting field mouse under his paw, lifting it slowly and eyeing it thoughtfully. He points out to the mouse thoughtfully, more to himself, that life isn't fair, before beginning to lament on his own life and about how he'll never be the King. To make himself feel better however, he also tells the mouse he'll never see the light of another day, bidding it adieu, and lowering into his jaws to eat. Zazu interupts him however, asking rhetorically and mocking if his mother ever taught him not to play with his food. Scar responds with annoyance, trying to eat the bird when he points out mufasa won't b e pleased with his absence. Just as he traps Zazu within his jaws, the King arrives, commanding Scar to release Zazu. Scar does, leaving the hornbill drenched in saliva, choosing to deal with his brother instead. He approaches Mufasa, carelessly invading his personal space in mock-surprise about being visited by his brother, but Mufasa moves onto more pressing matters. Scar says, again in a mock-surprised voice, he didn't know the Presentation was today and that he fell 'simply awful' for missing. Zazu points out, even as slippery as his mind is, he should've been first in line and Scar snaps his teeth at the bird, pointing out before Simba (referring to him as "hairball") was born he was first in line. Mufasa meets his brother's eyes, clearly stating that "hairball" is his son, the future king, and making it clear Scar was never gets the position. Scar says he'll practice his courtsey, turning his back and walking away from his brother. He veils a threat when Mufasa addresses him again, something that riles up the bigger lion. Scar reassures that he wouldn't challenge Mufasa, as he doesn't have th e brawn to do it. He navigates around the two and strides off into the savannah. Later, after Simba is denied permission to accompany Mufasa and go take care of some hyenas, Scar is visited by his nephew. He reacts in seething anger and annoyance when Simba gleefully points out he'll be king, asking what that makes Scar. Scar replies "a monkey's uncle", but Simba simply laughs and calls his uncle weird. Scar takes interest in the cub's previous statement of being showed the whole kingdom, guessing Mufasa didn't show him what's beyond the northern border. He reaffirms that the King was right and 'lets it slip' that the Elephant Graveyard is no place for a prince. Scar shruggingly s ays Simba would've eventually found out and only requests Simba not go to the place or tell anyone where he heard about the Graveyard from. He pushes Simba off with a paw, knowing the cub's curiousity would eventually draw him there. His plan to kill Simba, via Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, is foiled by Mufasa when the lion comes to their rescue and fights the hyenas off. From attop a knoll, he watches in dismay as the cubs are led out of danger and his plan fails. For this, he scolds the hyenas, debating whether to feed them or not as he "practically gift wrapped the cubs for them" but for whatever reason, they still couldn't dispose of the two. He drops the zebra meat however, and though their noisy eating, Banzai points out something that gives Scar another idea: they'd kill the King and the prince in one full swoop. With a sinister "Precisely", Scar leads his hyenas army into the musical "Be Prepared" The next day, Scar lures Simb a into the gorge and instructs him to wait on a rock for the "marvelous surprise" Mufasa has planned for him. Simba is extremely curious, opting to go with Scar, but the lion abruptly refuses his request. He brings up the incident with the hyenas, making Simba a little more compliant about staying on the rock, and suggest while he's there he work on his "roar". Scar begins to move off, when Simba addresses him again, asking if he'd like the surprise. The dark lion smirks, telling Simba that it is "to die for..." From atop the gorge's walls, he gives the signal to the hyenas and they start up a thunderous stampede, comprised of hundreds of startled wildebeests. Scar finds Mufasa and in a staged panic, tells Mufasa about Simba's being trapped in the Wildebeest stampede. Both lions run off to The Gorge, spotting Simba clinging desperately to a weak branch. Mufasa jumps into the sea of hooves and Scar drops his act of panic, swatting the majordomo into the wall of the gorge rendering him unconscious. The dark lion slithers across the ridges of the gorge, never taking his eyes off of Mufasa's position. The King leaps into the gorge's walls, clinging there, but Scar meets him at the top. After taking time to drink in Mufasa's helpless form, he slams his claws into his brother's paws, sinisterly whispering "Long live the King", and then throwing Mufasa back into the gorge to his doom. The newly labeled murderer meets Simba at the bottom of the gorge, seeing the cub curled up under Mufasa's broken body, and manipulates Simba, telling him that Mufasa's death was all his fault. He instructs Simba to run away an d never return, siccing the hyenas on him as the cub disappears. To the pride he returns, telling them all the news of Mufasa and Simba's deaths, unknown to him that the prince was anything, but dead. After this, he introduces the hyenas and ascends Pride Rock to truly assume the throne. During Scar's reign, the kingdom becomes a drought which causes the lionesses refuse to hunt, knowing there is no food left. Even the hyenas, who are probably used to going hungry for days, start complaining to Scar about the larder being bare. Scar, however, picking his teeth with the bones of an animal from a previous meal presumably, tells them to get out when Banzai angers him by mentioning Mufasa, a name that has been banned by law to be spoken. Finally, Scar calls Sarabi to him, asking her why the hunting party refuses to do its job, not accepting Sarabi's excuse of their not being any food, merely passing their unsuccess of f as the lionesses not looking hard enough. When Sarabi suggest they leave Pride Rock, Scar makes it clear he isn't moving the pride anywhere, the former Queen angrily pointing out his decision would end up in the deaths of them all. Scar turns his back on her, telling her that he's fine with this result and that he is the King and can do whatever he wants. He angrily strikes Sarabi when she insinuates he isn't half the King Mufasa was, and this causes Simba, who was observing the entire scene, to spring from hiding in his mother's defense. Scar first mistakens him for Mufasa, but when it's made clear it the thought-dead Simba, he glares a t the hyenas and cowers away as his nephew begins to back him into a corner. Scar makes it clear he isn't resigning, pointing to the many hyenas above him and telling him they think he is the King. However, Nala and the lionesses reject him, and Simba threatens he'll fight if his uncle doesn't step down. Scar slinks around Simba, hinting at Mufasa's death. The prince tells Scar his trick won't work, but the lionesses are curious as to what Scar is talking about. Pleasantly surprised, the King forces Simba to admit his responsiblity for Mufasa's death and proceeds to back Simba over the edge of Pride Rock's peak. As Simba slips off the peak, using his fore-paws to desperately cling for his life, Scar suddenly remembers Mufasa in similar situation years ago. Slammi ng his claws into Simba's paws just like he has previously done to Mufasa and assuming the youthful lion was as helpless as his brother was, Scar leans in and whisper to Simba that he, Scar, was really responsible for Mufasa's death. Enraged, Simba pins Scar, a paw pressing down on his throat. Scar tries to weasel his way out of the situation, but his nephew's choking him forces him to admit what really happened all those years ago. The hyenas ambush Simba, prompting the lionesses to rush in to fight off the hyenas, during which Scar slink away. Simba spots him however, and gives chase. Trapped at Pride Rock's summit, Scar begs Simba for mercy as he places the blame on the hyenas, unaware they are listening, but Simba will have none of it. He asks Simba of his intentions, relieved when his nephew decides not to kill him, but he is horrified when Simba gives him his own advice to run away and never return. Scar begins to cooperate, but throws amber into Simba's eyes and tackles him while he is blinded. The two lions engage in a brutal fight, a hard smack from Scar sending Simba on his back. Scar leaps to deliver the final blow, but Simba uses his hind legs to flip Scar over the edge and send him tumbling down the cliff. Scar survives the fall, and as he struggles to his feet, he greets his hyena friends in a pleasing manner, but they hyenas make it clear they are no longer friends and begin to surround Scar, backing against the stone. Scar pleads with the hyenas to listen to him, but the hyenas have had enough with his treachery and broken promise, and they subsequently leap on him and tear him apart as the flame engulfs them all. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Scar does not return as the villain in the direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, but it is revealed that Scar had a pride of lionesses loyal to him whom Simba exiled to the Outlands after he became king. They are led by Zira who is still fiercely loyal to him, who has three offspring: Nuka, Vitani, and Kovu. In the film, Zira attempts to use Kovu, who was briefly raised by Scar as well as his hand-chosen heir, to kill Simba and become king. Kovu, however, is not Scar's son but because of being chosen and raised by the lion still feels Scar is "a part of him", as he later explains to Kiara, Simba and Nala's daughter, and Kovu's presumed mate. Scar only appears twice, the first time in Simba's nightmare. In the nightmare, Mufasa clings to the cliff above the stampede as in the first film, and Simba tries to reach down to help his father. However, Scar appears on the ledge and grabs Simba's paw, preventing him from reaching Mufasa. Scar laughs, suggesting Simba trust him and let Mufasa fall. Mufasa falls into the stampede and the cackling Scar morphs into Kovu. Kovu flashes an evil grin and throws Simba into the stampede, as Scar had done to Mufasa in the first film. He appears again when Simba banishes Kovu from the Pridelands. As Kovu looks into a stream as he is exiled, he sees Scar's reflection rather than his own. Given that Kovu had rejected defending his legacy, the young lion flees the vision in panic. The Lion King 1½ In the direct-to-video "parallel film" The Lion King 1½ (2004), Scar makes a few brief, non-speaking appearances in the scenes for which he was present in the original Lion King film. He is shown making Simba fall over Pride Rock's peak and fleeing from Simba after admiting he murdered Mufasa. Finally, after Timon, Ma, Pumbaa, and Uncle Max defeat the hyenas, Simba kicks him over the side of Pride Rock's summit, into the hole the hyenas fell into, and to his death. Other Roles The Lion King (musical) In the Broadway musical based on the original film, Scar is portrayed by a human actor in an African-style costume with a lion-face headpiece mask that comes down over the actor's face using a hidden remote control along with the use of acane. Scar was originally portrayed in the Broadway production by John Vickery, and is currently played by Patrick Page. Dan Donohue portrays this character on the Broadway tour. Scar's role is expanded upon with the song "The Madness of King Scar". In it, Scar begins doubting his reign, fearing that he might be losing the respect of the lionesses and that he needs a queen. He attempts to seduce Nala, who rebukes him by scratching his face. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' Besides appearing in various The Lion King video games, Scar (スカル, Sukāru?) also appears in the Disney and Square Enix game Kingdom Hearts II as the primary villain of the Pride Lands world, voiced by James Horan. Much like in the film, Scar murders Mufasa to become king, and under his reign, the Pridelands suffers a drought and food becomes scarce. Prior to the game's main protagonists' (Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy) arrival at the Pridelands, Pete (in the form of a lion) offers Scar use of the Heartless to maintain his hold on the throne. Sora (in the form of a lion cub, a change brought on by his magical clothes) attempts to confront Scar in order to save the world, but is turned down by Rafiki due to the latter's prophecy. Soon afterwards, they are confronted by Scar. Scar attempts to persuade the lionesses to hunt and kill Sora, Donald, and Goofy and nearly attacks them, but is pinned down by Nala in order to allow Sora and friends some time to escape. Later, Sora locates Simba and brings him back to the Pridelands so he can challenge his uncle for the t hrone. The confrontation between Scar and Simba that follows is almost identical to that in the original film, starting with Scar's overconfident confession that he killed Mufasa, the only noteworthy exceptions being no hyenas for most of it and Sora and his group replacing the lionesses. Sora's group saves Timon and Pumbaa from Shenzi, Banzai, Ed and heynas, while Scar and Simba fight. As in the film, Simba eventually triumphs over his uncle; though Donald initially wants to help him, Sora prevents him from doing so, believing that it is Simba's fight, and they should not interfere. Thinking Scar to be defeated, the protagonists are surprised when, as Pete explains, Scar returns to battle once again as a Heartless. Scar's anger and jealousy were so strong they lingered after death and consumed him. During the battle Scar uses a series of swift and strong physical attacks and powerful magic against Sora and company. Sora and his friends defeat Scar again. Scar is the only character in the Kingdom Hearts universe - excluding Xehanort - to keep his original form as a Heartless. Whether or not a Nobody will be fleshed out in Kingdom Hearts continuity is debated. By the time Sora returns to the Pridelands to see how Simba is faring, rumors of Scar's ghost haunting the Pridelands have driven Simba into doubt. But once he overcomes this problem, the "ghost" is revealed to be the interaction of Simba's lack of confidence and Scar's spirit. Multiple copies of Scar's "ghost" then combine to form a gigantic Heartless that is eventually killed by Simba and Sora. Scar in Relation to Adolf Hitler and King Claudius Scar is most likely an archetype of King Claudius, the villain from Shakespeare's Hamlet, and inspired by the real-life German dictator, Adolf Hitler. In the song "Be Prepared", in which Scar sings to the hyenas about how he will kill Mufasa and become King, there is a scene where Scar sits on a high up rock, watching the hyenas march along. This is very similar to the Nazi film, Triumph of Will. In the play, Hamlet, Claudius poisoned the old King Hamlet, his own brother, in his sleep in order to usurp both the throne and the queen, and attempts to do the same by poisoning his nephew, Prince Hamlet. Whereas, Scar pushes Mufasa off a cliff to his death in order to become king and uses the same tactic on Simba. However, Scar didn't necessarily have Sarabi or any of the other lionesses to be his queen. Although, in the Broadway version, Scar attempts to seduce Nala to become his queen. Concept Art On the bonus features on the 2003 DVD release, The Lion King director Roger Allers revealed that Scar was originally a rogue lion who wasn't related to Mufasa. Then, the filmmakers decided that the story would be more emotional and scary if the bad guy was someone in the family. So, they made him as King Mufasa's younger brother -- a creepy uncle for Simba, and a threat from the "inside" only to know that this story material originates from Hamlet. Before the animators heard Iron's performance and decided to work Jeremy Irons's features into Scar, he actually did have more obvious similarities to some of the other lions in the pride, noticeably to his brother Mufasa. His paws were colorless like Nala, Sarafina, and various other lionesses and his jaw was prominent and square like Mufasa's as opposed to his final design where he boast colored, clawed pa ws and a goatee. His also seemed to be thicker in frame like his brother insteady of lanky like an Outlander. In this concept, Scar looks almost like the finalized version except for his colorless paws and bi-colored mane. In many of his concepts, he is seen with a bi-colored mane usually black and white or black and cream. Family Tree Trivia *Unlike the other lions in the pride, Scar's claws are always displayed throughout the movie. *Scar's eyes were to be blue-gray like Nala's at one point. * Tim Curry and Malcolm McDowell were both considered for the role of Scar. *The animators were so impressed with Jeremy Irons's performance that they worked Irons' features into Scar's face. *According to the Film Commentary, Scar's being in the shadows of Pride Rock while Simba and Mufasa would be in the sunlight was symbolic of Scar being evil. *Simba says to his uncle Scar "You're so weird!" to which Scar replies, "You have no idea." Jeremy Irons (the voice of Scar) gave this same response in the 1990 film Reversal of Fortune to which Irons won an Academy Award for Best Actor. *Scar was originally a rouge lion, but the story writers thought relating him to Mufasa would be more interesting; a threat within. This is why Scar and Mufasa differ so much; They weren't originally designed to be related.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYwlwYJFCxs&feature=related *Originally, Scar was going to send adult Nala away from Pride Rock because she ignored his romantic approaches, after which she finds Simba alive and well with Timon and Pumbaa. This idea was ultimately abandoned, as sexual harassment was considered improper in a family movie. However, the stage musical adaptation includes this plot development as part of director Julie Taymor's efforts to expand the female characters' presence in the story. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/trivia?tr=tr0658726 *In an earlier version of the film, Scar chases Simba out of the Pridelands himself. http://concept.lionking.org/art/story/stam36.jpg *In the Disney movie, Hercules, the title character is seen wearing Scar's skin while he is posing for a painting on a Greek vase. *When Kovu sees reflection instead of his, it the exact same image used in The Lion King, where Scar orders the hyenas to kill him after he himself kills Mufasa, merely distorted by the rippling water. * In an early version of the script during the final battle sequence between Scar and Simba, Scar defeats Simba and throws him off Pride Rock. But he is then engulfed in flame and Simba takes control of the pride.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y14TwUGQ3xE&feature=related * Scar appears oddly yellow colored in the 77th cover from one of the "The Lion King: A Nature Fun and Learn series" magazines. http://i56.tinypic.com/1zefpfb.jpg Gallery Scar2.jpg|Scar 16726.jpg|"...as the king's brother, you should have been first in line." scarsimba3.jpg|Scar with his nephew, Simba Scarlooks.png|Scar watches on as his plan fails in the Elephant Graveyard Idiots.jpg|"I'm surrounded by idiots." SSSS.png|"...Precisely" aaaaa.jpg|"...When at last I am given my dues" Scar,_Mufasa.png|Scar as he is about to kill Mufasa Scarstampede.png|Scar after the stampede Killhim.jpg|"Kill him" Scar .PNG|Scar eulogizes over Mufasa's death Lk_storyboard1_051.jpg|Concept Art of Scar as he claims the Pridelands 17173.jpg|"It's the lionesses who do all the hunting." Nowgetout.png|Scar demands the hyenas to leave surprised.jpg|Simba confronts Scar 2.png|Scar along with the lionesses Scarpaces.jpg|Scar accusing Simba of murdering Mufasa dejavu.jpg|Simba and Scar during the final battle Scarbattle.jpg|Simba fights Scar The-Lion-King11589100-19-41.jpg|Scar's final attack 17454.jpg|Scar about to be killed by the hyenas lion king isamisaa (3).jpg|Scar in Simba's nightmare Beprepared4.jpg Hercules-phil-scar.jpg|Scar's cameo in "Hercules"|link=Scar Scarconceptw/hyenas.png Stickwithme.png Songs *Be Prepared *Be Prepared (Reprise) (musical only) *The Madness of King Scar Voice Actors *'The Lion King (1994) - film' - Jeremy Irons (speaking and partial singing). Irons damaged his vocal cords after screaming the line "You won't get a sniff without me!" in the song "Be Prepared". This led to Jim Cummings being brought in to finish the end of the song, Jim Cummings (additional singing). *'The Lion King (musical) (1997) - (musical)' - John Vickery (original actor), Patrick Page (current actor), Dan Donahue (Broadway tour) *'The Lion King II: Simba's Pride - (1998) - (film)' – Jim Cummings *'Kingdom Hearts II - (2005) - (video game)' – James Horan References : Category:Deceased Characters Category:Lions Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Pridelanders Category:Antagonists Category:Movie Characters Category:Official Characters Category:Canon Characters